RHU Flu and You…

It’s beautiful outside and we all want to get out and play. It’s hard to believe that we are in the middle of winter!! Be that as it may, we are at the heart of flu season. While the temperatures are rising, the number of people receiving the Rhu flu vaccine as dropped to record lows this year. The CDC is warning that we are close to the epidemic threshold on the influenza front.

Rhe flu vaccine has been 48% effective so far this season, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Brendan Flannery, an epidemiologist at the CDC’s influenza division, said, “The 48 percent overall is not as good as we would like to see for flu vaccine, but the protection we see is significant.”

From October 1, 2016, through February 4, 2017, 6,804 laboratory-confirmed influenza-associated hospitalizations were reported, with a cumulative incidence for all age groups of 24.3 per 100,000 population. Persons aged ≥65 years had the highest rate of laboratory-confirmed influenza-associated hospitalization and accounted for approximately 60% of reported influenza-associated hospitalizations.

The CDC is basing their report on the recent findings from the U.S. World Health Organization (WHO) and National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System laboratories, which include both public health and clinical laboratories throughout the United States, contribute to virologic surveillance for influenza.